What are Clark County Area Codes?
The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a phone numbering scheme that was introduced in 1940. The NANP divides North America into numbering plan areas, which are encoded with three-digit number prefixes known as area codes. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator is responsible for the allocation of area codes in North America. The Ohio Public Utilities Commission regulates telephone service delivery in the State of Ohio.
Area Code 937
The area code 937 was brought into service on the 28th of September 1996. It was created from a split of the area code 513. The area code covers several major towns and cities. Some of which include New Carlisle and Springfield.
Area Code 326
The area code 326 is an all-service overlay for the area code 927. The area code was brought into service on the 8th of March 2020. The introduction of the area code 326 makes ten-digit dialing compulsory in Clark County. The area code 326 covers several towns and cities like Madison, Bethel, and South Charleston.
What are the Best Cell Phone Plans in Clark County?
The 2018 Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey shows a clear disparity between Ohio residents’ use of wireless phone services and their use of traditional landlines. The survey showed that 58.5% of adults in the state used wireless phone services exclusively. This is in contrast to the 4.3% of adults who relied exclusively on traditional landlines. Similarly, 71.8% of minors in the state relied exclusively on wireless phone services, while only 2.0% of minors in the state relied only on traditional landlines.
The data gathered from the survey aligns perfectly with the recent telecommunications trends observed in Clark County. These trends have seen a drift away from the plain old telephone services to the more flexible wireless phone service. This has led to an increase in the number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Clark County. Generally, MVNOs lease infrastructure owned by major phone service providers to deliver telecommunications services to their subscribers. Many of these MVNOs specialize in offering Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. VoIP enables users to make telephone calls over the internet by converting voice signals to digital signals to be transmitted. Finally, VoIP guarantees cheaper and more reliable telephone services.
There are many wireless service providers in Clark County. However, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint are the three major wireless phone service providers in Clark County. Verizon has the best coverage, with 98%. This is followed by T-Mobile, which covers 78% of the county, and Sprint, covering 58% of the county. Note that other wireless service providers in the county do not individually cover up to 50% of the county.
What are Clark County Phone Scams?
Clark County phone scams are attempts by scammers to steal money or personal information from Clark County residents via telecommunications media. The scammers use phone calls, robocalls, or text messages to contact residents to defraud them. Scammers utilize caller ID spoofing to hide their identities and robocalls to call a larger number of people in a short time. These spoofed caller IDs may be uncovered using services like reverse phone number lookup. There has been a significant rise in the number of phone scams being perpetrated in Clark County in recent times. Therefore, county officials have instructed residents to always be vigilant in order not to fall victim to these scams.
What are Clark County Grandparent’s Scams?
The grandparents’ scams are scams that target elderly residents of Clark County. The scams seek to exploit the vulnerability of elderly county residents. To commit this scam, a scammer spoofs the county jail’s caller ID or an out-of-state medical facility’s caller ID. The scammer then calls an elderly resident of Clark County posing as the resident’s grandchild. During the call, the scammer claims to be incarcerated or having a medical emergency. The scam usually involves a third party who plays the role of the solicitor or medical practitioner handling the case. This makes the scam more believable. After this, the scammer requests that money is sent or transferred to a third party to help resolve the issue. However, the payment is requested through unconventional payment channels.
County agencies and other organizations in Clark County recommend that educating the elderly county residents in the county is the best way to combat this scam. An elderly county resident in Clark County may use an area code lookup service to identify the location where the out-of-state call originates. Also, a reverse phone lookup tool can also be used to reveal the identity of the caller.
What are Clark County Imposter Scams?
An imposter scam is a call from a dishonest and fraudulent individual whose goal is to obtain money and other personal information from a resident of Clark County. The imposter scam may be perpetrated in several ways. The scammer might impersonate a staff of any government agency, lottery, or legitimate business. No matter what the story is, the goal is always to defraud county residents. The scammer will always request for payment to be made through unconventional channels like Green Dot or Bitcoins. The scammer employs tactics like caller ID spoofing, enabling their phone numbers to mimic a legitimate government agency or some other out-of-state area code. Area code lookup services come in handy in determining what area code the call originated from.
What are Clark County COVID-19 Relief Scams?
The COVID-19 relief scam is a phone scam that exploits the anticipated COVID-19 relief payment. To commit this scam, a scammer poses as a government official to call a resident of Clark County. The scammer uses caller ID spoofing to mask their identity, thereby taking on the caller ID of the Clark County Emergency Management Office. During the call, the scammer requests the county resident’s account details to make the proposed one-time stimulus payment into the account. County residents should note that the government will not call any individual to request their account details for payment to be made. Instead, the payment would be made directly in the resident’s bank account on file with the IRS or mailed to the resident house address.
What are Clark County Tech Support Phone Scams?
In the tech support scam, a scammer poses as a big-name tech company and calls a resident of Clark County. During the call, the scammer scares the victim with a claim of a security breach on their computer. The scammer often claims that there might be a system breach or a new virus stealing the victim’s personal data from their computer. They may send the victim emails, pop-up messages, or links to software. The scammer then requests that the victim downloads the software to delete the virus. The goal of the scam is to get the victim to either pay for software or tech support service. Often, the software that residents are required to download could be bugs or trojan horses that give the scammers backdoor access to the resident’s computer system.
What are Robocalls and Spam Calls?
Political campaigns, telemarketers, and nonprofit organizations use robocalls to deliver pre-recorded messages to a large number of people. Robocalls are made using robocall software that works in a loop, calling numbers from a pre-programmed list. Robocalls are capable of making millions of calls in less than an hour. Note that there are legal and illegal robocalls. The legality of a robocall is often determined per the Telephone Consumer Act. On the other hand, spam calls are unwanted and unsolicited calls that deliver messages that are not needed. The anonymity and reach of robocalls have made scammers exploit them. It is near impossible to completely avoid ever being robocalled as robocalls dial randomly selected phone numbers.
Some of the ways to deal with unwanted robocalls include:
- Reaching out to your phone service provider for information on how to block unwanted calls. Residents may also download free call blocking software online to block calls on their mobile phones.
- Terminating the call immediately you discover that it is a robocall. Desist from taking any further actions, such as following prompts to dial certain numbers.
- Getting your phone number registered with the National Do Not Call Registry
- Leveraging tools like phone number lookup services and free reverse phone number lookup to reveal the identity of suspicious phone numbers.
Finally, if these calls continue, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Ohio State Attorney General’s Office also receives reports of unwanted calls made online.
How Can You Spot and Report Clark County Phone Scams?
Clark County residents need to know how to spot phone scams. This is because scammers are continuously coming up with new ways and methods to defraud residents. The easy access to technology has also led to scammers improving their schemes. Various government agencies and organizations like the Better Business Bureau recommend education as the best defense for residents against scammers. Some indicators of a phone scam include:
- A slight pause is observed after the phone is answered. This pause is to enable the call to switch from a robocall software to a live agent, who is possibly a scammer, to continue the conversation.
- Payment requests are often through unconventional methods. Some of which include gift cards, iTunes cards, and bitcoin. Residents should know that legitimate businesses only request payment through cheques and bank transfers.
- The caller quickly takes an aggressive and heated tone once the resident starts questioning the nature of the call.
- A pre-recorded message is used to begin the call. In some cases, the prerecorded message prompts the resident to take certain actions or dial certain numbers.
- A deliberate attempt by the caller to prevent the resident from verifying information that they are being given. The caller will go as far as using high-pressure sales tactics to get the resident to commit to the purchase.
- Once-in-a-lifetime business or investment opportunities with supposed low risks and high returns on investment.
Clark County residents who identify any of these pointers should hang up the phone immediately. Several state and county agencies are available to deal with situations where residents fall victim to these scams. These agencies receive complaints, investigate scams, and recommend policies to reduce the activities of scammers. Some of these agencies include:
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office - The Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigates reports of phone scams. These reports can be filed in person at:
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office
120 North Fountain Avenue
Springfield, OH 45502
Phone: (937) 521-2050
The Ohio State Attorney General’s Office - The Ohio State Attorney General’s Office receives reports of both scam calls and robocalls online. These complaints and reports can also be made in person at:
Ohio State Attorney General’s Office
30 East Broad Street, 14th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (800) 282-0515
The Springfield Police Department - The Springfield Police Department investigates reports of phone scams. Reports and complaints can be filed in person at:
Springfield Police Department
130 North Fountain Avenue
Springfield, OH 45502
Federal Trade Commissions - The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for enacting policies to ensure fair and professional business practices. These complaints can be made online or by phone at 1-877-ID-Theft and 1-877-FTC-HELP.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center - The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI. They receive reports of internet crime and phone scams online.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Complaints of illegal robocalls and scam calls can be made online.